Author: James Edward Mills

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This is hardly a political endorsement. The good works of people on behalf of the environment rise well above the discourse of rhetorical posturing in the self-serving quest for social power that is politics. But as we are a democratic society it often falls to majority rule to determine even the distribution of scarce philanthropic resources in the support of worthy causes. So vote Deanna Kavanaugh-Jones for Eco-Champion. : http://tr.im/qkfb
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Deanna has done a great deal to galvanize the social power of the...

A recent Joy Trip to Door County Wisconsin prompted me to try my hand again at making pie. Several days of light hiking, biking and kayaking through this agrarian tourist community on the shores of Lake Michigan inspired reflection upon the practical use of fresh local produce in the preparation fun and tasty food.
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I had the pleasure seeing a cooking demonstration at the Washington Hotel & Culinary School on Washington Island. A short ferry ride from Gills Rock delivered me...

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If we slow down long enough to think about our food we just might come to realize there’s more to it than filling that nagging void in our bellies. We’re so pressed for time that we fail to think about the nutritional value of what we eat. Racing through the drive-thru window of fast food restaurants we pack faces with hamburgers and tacos loaded with fat, salt and empty carbohydrates. And worse than that, we really have...

I think it’s safe to say that social media is here to stay. In the six month since launching the Joy Trip Project I’ve managed to connect with thousands of people all over the world. I've managed to jump on just about every social media platform imaginable and the latest is the music site iLike.
The JTP isn't necessarily a provider of music. But as a series of MP3 files with audio featuring musical elements I figured it might make sense to use this service to hopefully make the stories bring to you every week a little easier to listen to and hopefully share with your friends. Find the new iLike fan page for the Joy Trip Project at: http://www.ilike.com/artist/The+Joy+Trip+Project
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So far I’ve been really lucky. Several supporters of my work have made it possible for me to travel a little and gather more compelling content. I aim to keep that going with several new editions of the podcast coming out, plus new posts to this blog and the photo stream throughout the summer. As it turns out though, finding these stories isn’t hard. There’s no shortage of interesting people doing exciting things with their lives, many for the benefit of others. The challenge is in packaging all these stories and delivering them to you in a manner that is convenient for you to enjoy. I hope iLike will help.

I just donated $20 to This American Life. A plea for cash came across my Facebook groups update list asking members to support the show’s free podcast. Apparently it costs $150,000 just to accommodate the bandwidth. So I plunked down my credit card and forked over the money.
As the Joy Trip Project struggles to meet its own fundraising goals I’d frankly feel like a hypocrite if I didn’t pony up to support those with similar objectives. Supporting TAL is a no-brainer because at some point I’d love nothing...

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In most films by Ken Burns like the Brooklyn Bridge, Jazz, The Civil War or Baseball he uses historical archive photographs that show us snap shots of time long past. And though there are plenty of old photos in his latest film “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” Burns also uses modern images taken by naturalist photographer Quang Toan Luong.
Luong’s images feature prominently in Burns’ National Parks film series due to premiere on PBS station nation wide in late September. Having visited all...